Creamy Baked Corn Recipe – 5 Simple Ingredients
This baked corn is a simple side dish that turns fresh sweet corn into something creamy, and comforting with a crispy top and buttery inside. With just five real food ingredients (no muffin mix) and a few minutes of prep, it’s an easy recipe that my family requests whenever there is fresh corn in season.
✩ What readers are saying…
“This was amazing! Thank you! We had honey chipotle spice mix I used and it was delicious!” -Bianca
When the no-till corn bed starts producing, of course the first thing we do is boil the tender new ears to eat straight off the cob, slathered with butter. But the second thing our hole family wants is this creamy fresh baked corn, because it’s the kind of dish you crave, especially with fresh sweet corn. Trust me.
Do not make the mistake of thinking this is just any old creamed corn or corn bake. No, it’s mainly crisp, tender corn, baked just right to be the next best thing to corn-on-the-cob.
In fact, most of my family prefers eating corn in this bake because it’s way easier to eat – no worry about corn in your teeth or butter dribbling down your chin, just delicious spoonfuls of buttery, creamy, salted – and slightly spicy, if you’d like, corn.
To make this baked corn, I adapted this recipe, changing the amount of ingredients to have less fat, adding garlic and a bit of optional spice – and we pretty much can’t get enough of this during the corn season.
Tips to Make Creamy Baked Corn
TIP #1: Scraping the Cobs. While cream and butter help make this dish creamy, the real key comes from scraping the cobs after cutting the kernels off. This is essential, so don’t skip this step – it adds flavor as well as more creaminess! Simply run the dull top of the knife down all the sides of what’s left of the cob after cutting off the kernels and the resulting pile of corn ‘cream’ gets added to the bowl of cut corn.
It’s a slightly messy job, but oh, so worth it. All the ingredients are then simply mixed together in one bowl and added to a generously buttered baking dish, dotted with pieces of butter and then baked to tender perfection.
TIP #2: Another key to this baked corn recipe is to not over-bake it. You know how chewy corn gets when it’s old or overcooked? Yeah, that’s what happens to this. So don’t forget it in the oven while you’re out at the grill with the rest of the meal – take it from me. Not good. If you’d like it to be a bit browner on top after cooking for the given time, you can stick it under the broiler for a minute or two, but don’t leave it to bake longer.
Ah, and when it’s done, it’s pretty much creamy corn perfection right there on your spoon. And because the cream isn’t cooked completely away it makes fabulous leftovers, tasting awesome days later, so don’t be afraid to make the whole recipe. You’ll want it more than once. Just saying.
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Creamy Baked Corn Recipe
Equipment
- 1 11 x 7-inch baking dish (if using a 13×9 inch dish, reduce the cooking time)
Ingredients
- 8 ears fresh corn husked
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper optional to taste
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne, optional to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter + extra to coat baking dish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice the kernels off the cobs into a large bowl. Run the dull side of the knife along all the cut edges of the cob to extract the corn ‘milk’ and add to corn in bowl.
- Add cream, garlic and spices to corn and mix well.
- Generously butter an 11 x 7-inch baking pan and spoon corn mixture into pan, spreading flat.
- Cut up the 2 Tb. butter and evenly place over the top of the corn.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes only – baking longer will result in chewy corn rather than tender (if you'd like more browning in spots on top, place under broiler for a few minutes). There will be cream visible, but it's easy to mix in and as it cools it thickens.
- Stir well and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Side Dishes
- Simple & Delicious Baked Tasty Rice
- Easy Slow Cooker Curried Barley with Carrots & Onions
- Roasted Cabbage Wedges Recipe with Onion Dijon Sauce
- Amazing Lemon-Garlic Baked Grated Carrots Recipe
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2018 and 2026.
Do you cook the corn before taking it off the husk?
No, just cut the kernels off raw and scrape all that lovely cob juice into a bowl. 🙂
Sounded good but after 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven, the light cream that I used had curdled and wasn’t very creamy. I also went too heavy on the cayenne. I used a heaping 1/4 teaspoon. The taste of the corn was overwhelmed by the garlic and the cayenne pepper. I did enjoy it. But, I am easy to please. Probably won’t make it again.
Bummer, sorry to hear that, Michael. I’ve literally made this dozens of times, as it’s one of our family’s favorite ways to eat fresh corn. Must come down to taste!
This was amazing! Thank you! We had honey chipotle spice mix I used and it was delicious!
Oh, that does sound yummy. 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Hi Jami, th8nking of doing this, and then freezing in dinner portions. Have you done this before?
I haven’t, but I think it should be okay even with the cream. Maybe freeze one portion first to see how it is after a week or so?
I tried this and it looked and tasted divine!